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Linking job demands and resources to burnout and work engagement: Does passion underlie these differential relationships?

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Abstract

This study examined the role of passion for work in the health impairment and motivational processes proposed by the job demands-resources model. Based on the dualistic model of passion, we proposed that harmonious and obsessive passion intervene simultaneously in the relationship between (1) job demands and burnout/engagement, and (2) job resources and burnout/engagement. This model was tested in two occupational samples: nurses (n = 1,179) and teachers (n = 745). Results from structural equation modeling support the proposed model in both samples. That is, both types of passion partially mediated the relationship between job demands and burnout, while harmonious passion partially mediated the relationship between job demands and engagement. Moreover, harmonious passion partially mediated the relationship between job resources and burnout/work engagement. Implications for burnout research and management practices are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a Grant from the Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture and a fellowship from the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec awarded to Claude Fernet.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), C.P. 8888, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3P8, Canada

    Sarah-Geneviève Trépanier

  2. Department of Management, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada

    Claude Fernet & Stéphanie Austin

  3. School of Management Science, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Jacques Forest

  4. Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Robert J. Vallerand

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  1. Sarah-Geneviève Trépanier
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  2. Claude Fernet
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  3. Stéphanie Austin
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  4. Jacques Forest
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  5. Robert J. Vallerand
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Correspondence to Sarah-Geneviève Trépanier.

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Trépanier, SG., Fernet, C., Austin, S. et al. Linking job demands and resources to burnout and work engagement: Does passion underlie these differential relationships?. Motiv Emot 38, 353–366 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-013-9384-z

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